HUMAN TECHNOLOGY
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS, ARTIFICIAL SELECTION, SELECTIVE
BREEDING, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, GENE THERAPY
VIDEO
• http://bcove.me/hmp88kls
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: HOW HAVE HUMANS USED TECHNOLOGIES TO
INFLUENCE THE INHERITANCE OF DESIRED TRAITS IN ORGANISMS?
• Genetic Modification
• Animal Husbandry
• GM stands for 'genetically-modified‘
• Selective Breeding of animals only
• describes the process by which scientists are
able to pinpoint the individual gene
• Concerned with the production and care of
domestic animals
• Remove gene, copy it, place it in new organism
• produces a desired outcome
• Selective Breeding
• the intentional mating of two animals or plants
• produces offspring with desirable traits
• Can also get rid of unwanted traits
• Gene Therapy
• Technique that uses genes to treat or prevent
disease.
• May allow doctors to treat a disorder by
putting a gene into a patient’s cells
•
No need for drugs or surgery.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANSIMS
REASONS FOR GENETICALLY MODIFYING ORGANISMS
• Produce faster growing crops or animals
• Produce plants that are more resistant
to pests
• Rainbow Papaya
• Research:
• Drug development
• Commercial reasons
• Fluorescent fish for pets
• Produce crops that are drought resistant
• Increase yield of crop
• Produce foods that stay ripe longer
• Reduce cost that is passed to consumer
• Endless Summer Tomato
• Enhance the nutritional value of a food
• Golden Rice
PROCESS TO MAKE GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
• The first GMOs were bacteria
in the early 1970s.
• Most basic modifications are
designed and prepared using
bacteria (usually E.Coli) and
then transferred to the target
organisms.
CONTROVERSY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
• Controversy over GMOs in general:
• Genetic modification is placing the genes of
one species into another unrelated species.
• Some modifications are created by
corporations to make crops resistant to
pests or to certain chemicals.
• Controversy over GM foods:
• Have they been tested enough to prove
they are safe?
•
•
Could pesticide resistant plants become
toxic?
Could peanut genes inserted into soybeans
cause unexpected allergic reactions?
• What evidence is there of problems with
GM crops?
• Some studies have shown negative results
for lab animals that ate GMO foods.
•
Those foods were not meant for human
consumption
•
There are not very many studies that show
these negative results.
•
Other scientists have criticized and
questioned some of these studies.
• Video http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gmo-food-labeling-inside-thecontroversy/
PROS AND CONS OF GMO FOOD
• Pros
• Higher crop yields
• Reduced need for herbicides
and pesticides
• Improved food quality
• Increased nutritional value
• Cons
• Possible allergies
• Unpredicted changes to the
ecosystem
• Chance of new diseases developing
SELECTIVE BREEDING
AND
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
REASONS FOR SELECTIVE BREEDING
• Improve food production
•
•
•
•
Better able to fight off pests
More fit and stronger animals
Cows that give more milk
Chickens that lay bigger eggs
• Selective Breeding – Plants and Animals
• Animal Husbandry – Animals only
• Typically for farming and agriculture
We choose the characteristics we
want:
• Dogs with a good sense of
smell, hearing etc.
PROCESS OF SELECTIVE BREEDING
• Decide which characteristics are important
• Choose parents that show these characteristics
• Select the best offspring from parents to breed
the next generation
• Repeat the process continuously
• Human controlled Natural Selection/Evolution
CONTROVERSIES OF SELECTIVE BREEDING
• Animal Rights:
• Should animals have the right to select
their own breeding partners?
• Unnatural
• It doesn’t occur in nature, does
that make it wrong?
• Benefits to humanity
• Better/more plentiful food.
• Service animals
• Humans have been using selective
breeding for thousands of years
already.
GENE THERAPY
REASONS FOR GENE THERAPY
• To alter genes to correct genetic defects
• prevent or cure genetic diseases.
• Not to be confused with Genetic engineering which changes the genes to make the
organism better than normal.
• Possibility to cure deadly diseases like cancer
PROCESS OF GENE THERAPY
Three different ways:
• Replacing a mutated gene that causes
disease with a healthy copy of the gene
• Inactivating, or “knocking out,” a mutated
gene that is functioning improperly
• Introducing a new gene into the body to
help fight a disease
CONTROVERSIES OF GENE THERAPY
• Pros:
• Could wipe out genetic diseases
• Prevent genetic disorders in
future generations for families
who know they have it in their
bloodline
• Cons:
• Still a dangerous and difficult
process
• When used in unborn children, not
sure of effects
• Child doesn’t have a choice